Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra explains why he prefers training abroad over India
Neeraj Chopra will be competing in the Federation Cup, his first appearance in an Indian event in three years, right after the Diamond League event in Doha on 10 May. Reuters
Reigning Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra opened up on the difficulty of preparing for events in India and why he opts to train abroad for the most part, saying his stardom often came in the way of focusing on his goal in his home country.
The javelin star, who has also won gold at the World Championships besides standing on top of the podium in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will begin his season in the Doha Diamond League on Friday with his focus firmly set on the Paris Olympics that will take place between 26 July and 11 August.
“For me more important is my sport. It’s good for my profile if I play in India but there are too many functions, marriage functions. I also want to join my family and friends but more than that, I want to train in an Olympic year,” the youngster from Haryana told reporters at a pre-competition press conference in Doha.
“Before Tokyo (Olympics), I always trained in India but right now I just want to focus on my game. I will train in India later,” he added.
From Doha, he will fly to Bhubaneswar next week to compete on home turf for the first time in three years during the 12 to 15 May Federation Cup.
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He is aware of being a familiar face in India and how his presence elevates the stature of his sport in the country.
“It’s not like cricketers, like Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni but lot of people know me. I go to India sometimes, people know me, which is good for athletics. People know about athletics and follow athletics because of the Olympic gold,” said the athlete, who has spent the better part of the last few months training in South Africa, Turkey and Switzerland.
Asked if he has plans to compete in every Diamond League event, Chopra said his “coach will decide.”
The conversation eventually veered towards the elusive 90m mark and Chopra said he would rather do it than talk about it.
“About 90m, last year I said I will throw 90 and threw 88. This year, I don’t want to say, I want to show,” he said.
“People have been asking me this question since 2018, when I threw 88.06 at the Asian Games. But, a lot of things happened, my elbow injury, the surgery and now I have been stuck between 88 and 90m,” he said.
“I really want to break the barrier this year. Even last year, I had said that Doha is famous for 90m. But, we were not lucky due to too much of head wind. But maybe tomorrow we’ll have a good day,” he said.
Chopra said he knows the expectations from him every time he steps into a stadium to compete but he tries to focus more on his technique.
“…obviously, it is the Olympics year and India is a big country and everyone expects gold. But, it’s really hard in Olympics because the best from the world are competing with you.
“My focus is to just stay healthy and concentrate on my technique. And yes, if I stay healthy everything will be good.”
There was also a question on his flowing mane and how it is becoming a rage among youngsters who look up to him.
“No, it’s not good for throwing without bandana. You can’t see the foul line,” he quipped while breaking into a chuckle.
With PTI inputs